


the aftermath

by Larrant



Series: a rivalry in chapters [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5460002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Larrant/pseuds/Larrant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>on the shuttle that takes Ren and Hux back to their master</p>
            </blockquote>





	the aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> so here it is! The smut one is still a WIP, so I'll have to upload it later when I'm done xD! i will definitely finish it, i promise x3

 

 

Ren's lost the mask.

 

That's the first thing Hux thinks of, when he finally sees Ren in the ship's medbay. They left the base two hours ago, watched as the planet self-destructed behind them alongside the superweapon within, left it and everything else behind to return to the First Order.

 

When he enters, alusteel doors sliding open with a hiss and closing behind him, the Sith himself is barely awake, barely conscious, lying on a medical bed with his lightsaber on the table next to him- the man had probably insisted on keeping the thing with him, so was no surprise in that particular fact- even if it was broken as he had heard. But Ren's helmet on the other hand is most curiously  _not_ next to it, and in fact not anywhere to be seen. Hux doubts it could be anywhere other than here, if it was at all- the man has some strange obsession with that helmet, constantly wearing it as if it was part of his skin. For the first few times he'd been injured and needed treatment, he had even tried to insist on wearing it throughout the treatment.

 

He wonders exactly how angry the Sith will become upon realizing that the stormtroopers didn't bring him back with it in tow.

 

A nod to the medical droid to leave them alone and then he approaches, footsteps careful to be loud enough that they might be heard, measured and calm all the way up until he's standing right beside Ren, until he's looking down on the man in the bed- who is certain to have noticed Hux's presence by now but seems also adamant to ignore him, his eyes firmly shut and breathing uneven but still passably feigning sleep. But not well enough. He can tell the man isn't asleep, for something in the set of his mouth that is recognizable.

 

It's still jarring, no matter how many times Hux sees it, but looking at the face of the man under the mask can never be something quite what he expects. Looking down on the Sith, the youthful features take him aback yet again- the pale, unmarred skin that stands out in contrast against the black of his robes, a sense of something not quite tainted in his face that always takes a moment to get used to. But he sees the injuries too, blood drying on his head, spilling bright red from a cut lip- but perhaps the redeeming quality of lightsaber injuries is that they cauterize as simultaneously as they cut, and even though Hux can smell the burned flesh and if he glances down see the jagged cut scoring the man's shoulder and arm, there is still no real blood loss that can be determined.

 

He stays silent a moment more, wondering if he will be acknowledged, and when he is not pulls up a chair and sits down anyway. He's willing to wait.

 

The silence stretches, the soft hum of the generators the only sound between them.

 

"... So," it's a moment before he speaks and breaks the stillness, and it's a cool, unreadable sort of amusement that slides into his voice. But there is not even a semblance of respect, nor of humility. There is no need for respect, not now, especially not when there is nothing to deserve it.

 

"You failed in your mission after all." His voice is calm, and it reveals nothing of the anger. The fiery, ice cold anger that threatens to burst out through the surface and destroy something like in many of the temper tantrums Ren throws, now that he can see the Sith. But it is an anger that he can do nothing with because the other is not his subordinate, not his to do with what he wishes- even though Kylo Ren's failure to keep the superweapon safe had completely destroyed it as well as the entire planet.  _A failed mission should not mean any survivors_.

 

Silence. There is no reaction from the man, not even the opening of his eyes.

 

"Starkiller Base was completely obliterated. The weapon did not even manage to fire." Light, soft. Almost pleasant. He does try to be rational, after all. And the pleasantness _does_ do so well in conveying his displeasure, a man who usually has nothing short of curt words and disdain for the Sith he presumes to work under.

 

And then, after too many moments, a breath, a reply.

 

"They had help in lowering the shields to the base." His eyes are not open, as if he cannot even see it worthy of himself to answer. "A former stormtrooper." A hiss of breath, "A traitor."

 

Hux hears what goes unsaid- of course he does. A flash of memory, an exchange of words from only the other day. _Complete confidence in my troops_... that was what he had said, wasn't it. It makes his nails dig into the flesh of his palm, suddenly irritated. No doubt a jab at his own incompetence. He opens his mouth, a reply scathing on his tongue, but then Ren continues, as if what he had said was meant not as an insult but rather an observation.

 

"There was a man, with them. Han Solo."

 

Confusion. Irritation. A break in Hux's momentum. Something that distracts him wholly from the anger- perhaps it is Ren's tone, somehow empty in a way that drains even the emotion from Hux. "The Republic general." He is not sure how he is meant to answer that, so instead he falls back on statements instead. "The so-called war hero." Automatically, a sneer curves his mouth at the word.

 

"Yes." The reply is distant for some reason, more so than before, unseeing. The man finally opens his eyes, stares at him and then seems to stare right through him. "I felt him. I felt him arrive on the planet."

 

Changing the subject? But instead of making his teeth grit it makes him hesitate. His sneer is condescending, even as the confusion runs deeper.

 

"And I presume you let him escape too," he responds coldly, "Along with the rest of those rebels and traitors."

 

"... No, I..." A beat of silence, stillness. Hesitation? No. Contemplation. But not that either. "I killed him."

 

This time the frustration really does bubble over- he does not understand, and he has to take a moment to remind himself that he does not want to. He changes the subject instead, somehow knowing that he would be out of his depth if he tried to pursue that topic any longer. The anger will have to be left to another day, it seems. "The Supreme Leader is returning you to the First Order to complete your training."

 

"... I see." Ren's eyes close again, and Hux is almost a little bit at a loss.

 

The man is still delirious perhaps. There is something about him that is strange today it seems- did this Han Solo say something to him? That traitor stormtrooper? Normally Kylo would be... angry, for lack of a better word, at something like this. But there is something about him right now that seems distant, almost dead. And the reason is wholly beyond him.

 

He realizes after a moment that it's no use talking with the man at this stage then, if he's like this. Not even to anger or to gloat- he had come here to do both, and it seemed like that wasn't about to happen, even if the start had seemed promising. So he stands instead, abruptly. He has better things to do than waste his time.

 

"We'll be arriving there in twelve cycles. You should prepare yourself." He does not mention the Supreme Leader's wrath (it does not exist, in all truth- at least not if he had interpreted his tone correctly that last time), but the statement is still implied. There is no reply, and he turns, waves at the medical droid to return, and then steps away.

 

He is already by the door when Ren speaks again.

 

"He was my father."

 

A pause, his hand just barely hovering over the door sensor, and he twists his head- the narrow of his eyes is confusion rather than scorn. What did that mean-? His mind works to connect the dots, but even when they do- belatedly, for it takes more than several moments to comprehend- his next words are still a guess, "Han Solo?"

 

A second. Two. Three. Five. Ten. Silence. And that is all the answer Hux needs.

 

There could be a realization in his mind now. There could be many of them, if he linked the dots and comprehended the full significance of Kylo Ren's words. That knowledge could become useful. But today he is too tired for that after all. Or perhaps he just does not understand yet, still. He does not know what to say. There are a multitude of replies on his tongue- and funnily enough, _I'm sorry for your loss_ is one of them.

 

His tongue loosens, and he does not say any of that. Instead he utters, sharp and curt. "Twelve cycles. Make sure you're walking again by then."

 

And then he is gone.

**Author's Note:**

> so here's the question- do I make this multichaptered? q.q
> 
> tumblr: kyushoku.tumblr.com  
> please do visit me~ <3 leave me a prompt or fic suggestion =D


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